New Study Finds Link Between BPA and Rapid Blood Pressure Increase

December 10 2014

Need another reason to bring your own reusable container wherever you go? Here's a good one that pertains to your health, from an article published this December in The New York Times:

"A new study shows that a common chemical in the containers can seep into beverages and raise blood pressure within a few hours." And, "The study found that when people drank soy milk from a can, the levels of BPA in their urine rose dramatically within two hours – and so did their blood pressure. But on days when they drank the same beverage from glass bottles, which don’t use BPA linings, there was no significant change in their BPA levels or blood pressure.

A single instance of increased blood pressure may not be particularly harmful. But the findings suggest that for people who drink from multiple cans or plastic bottles every day, the repeated exposure over time could contribute to hypertension, said Dr. Karin B. Michels, an expert on BPA who was not involved in the new research."

What's more, the article states that even so-called "BPA-free" plastics could pose a similar risk, as "these products often contain chemically similar alternatives – like bisphenol S." The New York Times goes on: "One study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives found that plastic products advertised as BPA-free still leached chemicals with estrogenic activity – and some of these chemicals were even more potent than BPA."

For us here at Klean, a study like this is just one more reason to avoid single-use plastics altogether. If you agree, spread the word and raise awareness of the health risks associated with these ubiquitous chemicals.

Want to learn more? Read the full article from The New York Times here.